A PR (card valid to 2028) with an Indian passport expiring in October 2024 asked whether a June trip to India was safe given the "6-month passport validity" worry. Members' answers converged:
- The trip itself is fine. Members said he can visit India and return without issue — as a Canadian PR, re-entry to Canada runs on the valid PR card, and the six-month-validity rule of thumb wasn't treated as a barrier for this itinerary. The passport must simply be valid for the travel dates.
- But renew while in India — it's dramatically faster and cheaper. The unanimous practical advice: use the India trip to renew the passport on tatkal. One member's own timeline: applied January 25, appointment January 31, passport in hand February 1. Another put the cost at roughly ₹1,500-plus versus the slower, costlier BLS process from Canada, adding that even normal renewal in India now approaches tatkal speed.
- Renewal timing rules help. A member noted an Indian passport can be renewed up to one year before expiry — so an October 2024 expiry was comfortably renewable in June.
- The alternative (renewing from Canada via BLS) was described as slow and frustrating — the thread's consensus was to avoid it when an India trip is already planned.
(Timelines are member experiences from specific cities; tatkal availability varies — book the appointment as soon as you land.)